Portrait of Kristina Solomoukha © Béryl Libault
Kristina Solomoukha’s artistic journey began in Soviet Ukraine during the Perestroika era. After studying architecture, spatial and graphic design at the Kyiv School of Industrial Art, she moved to France in 1989 to continue her education at the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts de Paris.
Kristina Solomoukha, Lighthouse, 2003, aluminum, electrical material, plexiglass, 250 x 180 x 180 cm, FRAC Normandie collection, Caen (foreground). Kristina Solomoukha in discussion with Paolo Codeluppi, On possibility of life in capitalist ruins, 2023, watercolor on paper, 74.5 × 99 cm. Kristina Solomoukha in discussion with Paolo Codeluppi, Left hand of darkness, 2023, watercolor on paper, 69.5 x 99.5 cm. Kristina Solomoukha in discussion with Paolo Codeluppi, Annihilation, 2024, watercolor on paper, 74x109cm (second plain) © Courtesy Kristina Solomoukha. View of the exhibition Humain Autonome : Déroutes, MAC VAL, 2024, photo Salim Santa Lucia, © Kristina Solomoukha, © MAC VAL
Initially focusing on notions of space, territory, and urban landscape, her practice has gradually expanded to include collaborations with artists, historians, sociologists, and anthropologists, converging around the idea of ‘living together’. This evolution has resulted in a diverse body of work, including installations, sculptures, watercolours, public interventions, films, performances, writings, and participatory projects.
Kristina Solomoukha, Mind the Gap Fountain, 2008, a public fountain made with the emblematic elements of private space: inflatable pool, pickup truck, lawn sprinkler, intervention at Cleopas T. Johnson Park, Atlanta, GA, USA, Courtesy Kristina Solomoukha, © Kristina Solomoukha
Furthermore, her work stems from research expeditions to specific contexts where she engages in dialogue with people from different cultures, collecting data and visuals related to spatial and social organisation—architecture, landscapes, public objects, and histories. By examining patterns and disruptions within these elements, she ‘reformulates’ them through hybridisation, fragmentation and humour, ultimately creating an insightful art form that critically explores the political and social dimensions of images.
Kristina Solomoukha, Shedding Identity, 2006, (fragment), light boxes, mirrored Plexiglas, neon, digital prints on adhesive, variable dimensions, collection of FRAC des Pays de la Loire, Carquefou, © Kristina Solomoukha, © FRAC des Pays de la Loire, photo Marc Domage
Kristina Solomoukha, 3305, 74 Euro TTC, 2009, breeze-blocks, variable dimensions, © Courtesy Kristina Solomoukha, © Kristina Solomoukha, © Le Dojo
Kristina Solomoukha, Échangeur autoroutier et ferroviaire à Kyiv, Ukraine, avant l’invasion russe, 2024, water color on paper, 74,5 x 102 cm, © Courtesy Kristina Solomoukha, © Kristina Solomoukha
For instance, in her early installation Shedding Identity (2006), created after her return from São Paulo, lightboxes arranged like a city model illuminate fragments of urban landscape, revealing the intricate connections between architecture, advertising, and city identity. Similarly, in her solo exhibition 3 305,74 Euro TTC (2009)1, inspired by images of an Italian village marked by a urban project halted due to corruption, the artist completely redesigned the exhibition space by erecting unfinished brick walls. This fascination with urban landscapes in a state of limbo also appears in her watercolours of complex motorway junctions, such as The Geography of Nowhere (2006) and Motorway and Railway Interchange in Kyiv, Ukraine, Before the Russian Invasion (2024). Critical of capitalist ideals and alluding to the post-human condition, these works present highly engineered urban forms as deserted remnants of civilisation.
Kristina Solomoukha and Paolo Codeluppi, Parade du OUI et du NON, 2017, the flags and banners carried by the participants were made by invited artists: René García Atuq, Babi Badalov, Elisabetta Benassi, Alevtina Kakhidze, Julien Loustau, Sophie Nys © Courtesy Kristina Solomoukha and Paolo Codeluppi, © Kristina Solomoukha and Paolo Codeluppi © Centre d’art contemporain Les Capucins, Embrun, photo Dominique Blanc
Kristina Solomoukha, Costume de maïs zapatiste, 2019, painted foam, fabric, size 38, © Courtesy Kristina Solomoukha, © Kristina Solomoukha, photo Paolo Codeluppi
Kristina Solomoukha’s collaboration with artist Paolo Codeluppi since 2012, along with the 2014 Revolution of Dignity in Ukraine, inspired her to explore alternative political models based on horizontal collective practices. This is reflected in their film The Ambassador’s Body (2017), in which historian Yves Cohen discusses the ‘leaderless’ protest movements, and in YES and NO Parade (2017), a town march in Embrun, France, which involved local residents and institutions: the retirement home, schools, and farms. The project revolved around the idea of democratic debate, while exploring the potential for productive coexistence amidst polar divisions. The artist’s further interest in protest movements as networks in which all members are equal, drew her to the aesthetics of the Zapatista movement2 and its use of ‘balaclavas’3. Recognising the liberating potential of concealing one’s identity to foster equality, she created the provocative human-sized Zapatista Corn Costume (2019).
La maison de l’ours, Tant qu’elle est dans le feu, elle vit, 2023, storytelling evening with texts and readings by Louise Hallou, Maya de Vulpillières, Blandine Rotival, Luna Duchaufour-Lawrance, Hang Hang, Marie Truffier and Ilaria Andreotti, at the invitation of Marine Ducroux-Gazio and Emma Vallejo, © La maison de l’ours, photo Paolo Codeluppi
Kristina Solomoukha and Paolo Codeluppi, Costume d’ourse, 2014, faux fur, fabric, size 38, (model: Marie Johannot) © Courtesy Kristina Solomoukha and Paolo Codeluppi, © Kristina Solomoukha and Paolo Codeluppi, © Nouvelle Collection Paris, view of the Nouvelle Collection Paris fashion show, 2017, Palais des Beaux-Arts, ÉNSBA, Paris, photo Romain Moncet
Kristina Solomoukha, A little closer to death that we would like it to be (working title), 2022 – 2025 currently being edited, HD color video, sound, image Julien Loustau, © Courtesy Kristina Solomoukha, © Kristina Solomoukha
In 2020, Kristina Solomoukha co-founded La maison de l’ours, an exhibition and event space in Montmartre. She is currently working on a documentary about the Ukrainian queer community, filming in Ukraine throughout 2022-2023. She also teaches at the École Nationale Supérieure d’Art et de Design in Paris.